Valve-shifting device.



No. 675,327. Patented may 2a; |901. c. F..V FELT.

VALVE SHIFTING DEVICE.

(Application Bled Oct. 15, 1900.)

(N0 lludel.)

UNITED STATES ATN CHARLES E. FELT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOFRANK B. FELT, OF SAME PLACE, AND MERRITT GREENE,- OF PITTSBURG,PENNSYLVANIA.

VALVE-SHIFTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 675,327, dated May 28,1901.

Application filed October 15, 1900. Serial No. 33,063. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. FELT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-ShiftingDevices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to valve-shifting devices in which a number ofvalves are connected by rods, bars, or other means and simultaneouslyshifted in the same direction by means of a lever or other device, andthis although said valves, so far as location is concerned, areinposition for separate hand manipulation.

The primary object of this invention is to simultaneously shift valveswhich owing to their location and other conditions-such, for example, asextreme temperature-are practically inaccessible for hand manipulationor even for simultaneous shifting by the usual shifting devices inordinary proximity thereto.

Another object is to simultaneously shift in opposite directions, bymeans of a single lever, a number of valves, in pairs, located eitheralternately or adjacent to each other.

A still further Objectis to simultaneously shift a number of valveswithout regard to this relative arrangement to each other, but which arein differing horizontal and also vertical planes, and this byconnections actuated by a single lever.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts bywhich the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearingare attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawing the single figure thereof illustrates in endelevation an arrangement of valves and of devices connecting andoperating the same embodying myinvention, and this particularly inconnection with valves which in their employment, as hereinafterdescribed, are practically inaccessible for hand manipulation or bymeans of lever and other connections within theirimmediate vicinity andvalves in differing vertical and horizontal planes and in pairs, one ofwhich pairs is located between the other pair.

The reference-figures l, 2, 3, and 4 indicate valves or stop-cocks, eachof which is in a differing horizontal and vertical plane with referenceto the others, which said valves or -cocks are of the usual and ordinaryconstruction, capable of being opened and closed by oscillating, saidvalves being each respectively provided with levers 5, 6, 7, and 8, by6o means of which they are operated to open and close the pipes 9, lO,ll, and l2 in which said valves are located. In the position in whichthe levers are shown the valves 1 and 4 are open and the intermediatepair of valves 6 5 shown) for the production of oxygen from 7omangauates or other materials of considerable height and maintained atvery high temperatures--say, for example, in the neighborhood of andabove 500 centigrade-and as a result of which said valves cannot bepractically operated except from a consider'- able distance away fromsuch retort, nor except from the ground or floor at a point ten or morefeet below the valves.

In the production of oxygen from manga- 8o nates the pipe 9 extendsthrough the interior of the retort to the bottom thereof for supplyingair for the oxidation of the manganate, While the pipe l2 enters andterminates at the upper end of the retort and forms the discharge fromthe retort of poor air, consisting mainly of nitrogen and a small volumeof oxygen, while the pipe 10 also extends down to the retort to itsbottom and constitutes a steam-passage through which steam, with or 9owithout being superheated, is conducted to the manganate for deoxidizingpurposes, While the pipe ll opens into the upper part of the retort,whence the oxygen rises and is discharged thence to a suitable holderfor subsequent use.

In the manufacture of gases, and particularly oxygen gas frommanganates, the steampipe 10 and the oxygen-discharge pipe 1l must beclosed during the oxidation of the roo manganate and at which time thepipes 9 and 12 should be opened, and vice versa, in the deoxidation ofthe manganate, and hence,

owing to the necessary location of these valves quite close up to thetop of the retorts, some means must be provided for the simultaneousclosing and opening of such valves, arranged in pairs, as indicated, andthis from a point removed from the very high temperatures beforementioned and conveniently accessible for the attendant. To these ends13 indicates a fixed shaft, on which, at its center of length, ispivoted a bar 14. The operation of said bar, however, would be the sameif it were fixed on the shaft and the shaft pivoted. Pivotally securedat each end of the bar 14 are rods 15 16, terminatingr at their oppositeends in eyes or loops or slots, as may be, 17 1S, to the eye 17 of whichare movably secured rods 19 20, the rod 19 of which' is pivotallyattached to the lever 6 of the valve 2 and the rod 2O to the lever 7 ofthe valve 3, and to these levers 6 and 7 and projecting from theopposite sides thereof are rods 21 and 22, one of which, 2l, passesacross the front side of the pipe 10 and the other, 22, across the rearside thereof, and both of said rods 21 and 22 being linked or coupled tothe eye 23 in a rod 24, pivotally secured to the adjacent arm 25 of abell-crank 2U on a shaft 27, supported by a bracket 2S.

Linked to or pivoted in the eye 1S are two rods 29 and 30, the former ofwhich, 29, passes in front of the pipe 12 and is linked to the arm 8 ofthe valve 4, to which arm 8 is also linked a rod 3l, which passes backof the pipes l0 and 1l, while the rod 30 passes back of the pipes 10,11, and 12 to the front side of the pipe 9, where it is linked to thearm 5 of the valve 1, another and short rod 32 being likewise secured tosaid arm 5 and with the rod 31 linked to the eye 33 in a rod 34, pivotedto the arm 35 of a bell-crank 36 on the shaft 27 at the rear side of thebracket 28, which is secured to a Stringer or beam or other support 37in approximately the horizontal plane occupied by the several valves.Both crankarms 2G and 3G are free to oscillate about the axis of theshaft 27, which shaft may be fixed or loose, but is preferably fixed forstability.

Linked to the end of an arm 3S of the crankarm 26 is a rod 39, extendingdownwardly and secured to the hand-lever 40 within convenient reach andmanipulation of an attendant standing on the floor and at a point notobjectionally near to the heat of the retort, while to an arm 41 of thecrank-arm 36 is linked a rod 42, having its lower end secured to a cable43, passing around a sheave 44, mounted in a block 4 5, the other end ofthe cable being secured to the lever 40 at a point next the rod 39 andthe lever 40 being pivoted to a block, stanchion, or other suitablesupport 46 by a casting 47 or eyebolt, as may be.

The passing of the connecting-rods at the back and front of the adjacentpipes is due to the unavoidable arrangement of the pipes and theirrespective valves, but otherwise is not necessary to the operation ofthe rods, although an illustration of the adaptability of my device tothe operation of the Valves in tortuous arrangement of that character.When the valves are in the position shownnamely, valves 1 and 4 open and2 and 3 closed-the several rods,the bar 14,the cranks 26 and 30, thelever 40, and the cable 43 are in the position shown in the drawing, andin practice when the oxidation of a manganate is complete the lever 40is depressed, and as a result the pair of valves 2 3 and 1 4, throughthe several connections described, are actuated in opposite directions,thereby simultaneously closing the valves 1 4 and opening the valves 23, shutting off the supply of air, closing the discharge of nitrogen,and opening up the supply of steam, deoxidizing the manganate and alsoopening the passage to the holder for the discharge thereto of theoxygen, as fast as it is evolved in the retort by the decomposing actionof the steam.

On depressing the lever 40, the several rod connections between saidlever, the bellcranks, and the bar 14 the result is that the upper endof the lever 14 is pulled forward by the action of the bell-crank 25 andthat the lower end of the lever 14 pulls its rod connections and valvesin opposite direction and precisely the same distance, all of which isprovided for bythe movement in opposite directions of the rods 39 and 42by reason of the connection of the rod 39 and the cable 43 with thelever and the connection of the rod 42 with the other end of the cableand without connection with the lever 40 and as could only accrue by theuse of a ilexible connection of this or a similar character cooperatingwith a sheave at the point at which the sheave 44 is located relativelyto the lever 40 or without the employment of substantially dilferentdevices and more complicated devices between the bell-cranks and thelever.

It is obvious that the cable 43 may be extended to the arm 41 and therod 42 be omitted, for obviously the depressing of the lever and of thearm 38 of the bell-crank through the pull of the rod 39 will result inthe pull of the connections between the arm 25 and the upper end of thebar 14, cause the lower end of the arm 14 to exert a pull on thecrankarm 35, and lift and cause the arm 41 to lift the cable as fast asthe rod 39 descends, and that when the lever 40 is lifted it will pullwith it the attached cable, thereby drawing down the arm 3S, therebydrawing down the arm 41, and through its connections pull the lower endof the bar 14 forward, while at the same time the upper end of the barwill by pull actuate its connections. In other words, the simultaneousoperation of the Valves will be the same by the omission of the rod 42and the substitution of the cable therefor.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis-- 1. The combination,with a number of valves,

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of a pivoted bar at one side thereof, a shaft upon which said bar ismounted, rods connecting said bar with each of said valves, and meansfor actuating said pivoted bar for shifting some of said valvessimultaneously in opposite directions,whereby some of said valves areseated and others unseated, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a number of valves arranged in differing planes,either horizontally or vertically, or both, of a pivoted bar located atone side thereof, means for supporting said bar, rod connections betweeneach of said valves and said pivoted bar, and means for oscillating saidbar,wherebya number of said rod connections are shifted in one directionsimultaneously with the shifting of the remaining number in the oppositedirection, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a number of valves arranged in alternate pairs,of a pivoted bar and means for supporting the same, a number of rodsindependently connecting each pair of valves with said bar, and meansfor actuating the pivoted bar, whereby said valves are simultaneouslyseated and unseated, in pairs, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a number of valves, a pivoted bar arranged at oneside thereof, a bell crank or cranks arranged at the opposite sidethereof,rods connecting said bell crank or cranks with the valves, inpairs, and with the pivoted bar, and means for actuating saidbell-cranks simultaneously in opposite directions and with them thevalves and the bar, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a number of valves, a pivoted bar at the oneside thereof, bellcranks at the opposite side, means for connecting saidvalves in pairs and with the bar and bell-cranks of a hand-lever pivotedat one side of the bell-cranks, a cable and rod connection independentlysecured to the lever, and a sheave sustaining said cable connection,substantially as described.

6. The combination of a number of valves arranged in differing planesand in pairs, with a pivoted lever at one side thereof and a pair ofpivoted bell-cranks at the opposite side, a rod connection between oneor more pairs of said valves and with one of said bell-cranks and end ofsaid pivoted bar, and a rod connection between the other pair or pairsof said valves and the other bell-crank and end of said pivoted bar, andmeans for simultaneouslyr actuating said bell-cranks in oppositedirections and with them the bar and the separate pairs of valves,substantially as described.

7'. The combination of a number of valves arranged in differing planesand in pairs, with a pivoted lever at one side thereof and a pair ofpivoted bell-cranks at the opposite side, a rod connection between oneor more pairs of said valves and with one of said bellcranks and end ofsaid pivoted bar, and a rod connection between the other pair or pairsof said valves and the other bell-crank and end of said pivoted bar, alever, of the first class, arranged lbelow said bell-cranks, a sheavebelow said lever, a rod connection between said lever and one of saidbell-cranks, and a flexible connection between said lever, the otherbell-crank and the shaft, substantially as described.

CHARLES E. FELT.

Witnesses:

EDNA B. JOHNSON, JNO. G. ELLIOTT.

